Road rail



Dec. 118 E923. L47Z77 O. B. PULIS ROAD RAIL Filed Feb. 15. 1922 Toall whom it may concern."

Patented H8, @230 our state Milli/G37 earner cente QSCAR B. IPUJLIS, 01B WISCONSIN, SIGNOR 1'0 METAL ZE'Ulitfil W33 POTZOH, Oil BHLWAUKEE, CONSIN, A CQEPUEAEIQEL AD is Be it known that I, OSCAR li Poms, citizen of the United States, residlng at Mil- 4 waukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road Rails,

of which the followin is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in the design and construction of that type of metal forms which are employed when constructing roads, pavements, curbing or the like, from concrete or other plastic material and among the objects of the m vention 1s to provide a device of this character which has great sturdiness and rigidity and will successfull withstand rough usage and heavy superimposed loads.

These forms or rails are used very extensively in the construction. of concrete roads, and there is a constantly growing tendency to utilize the rail forms for the support of various kinds of machines and mechanisms, as examples of which subgrade planers and concrete nishing machines may be mentioned. Under such conditions the heads of the rail forms are subjected to the battering action and impact of the Wheels or upon which the mechanism is, mounted," as well as to the additional weight of the superimposed load. A strong and rigid'construction is. necessary to avoid bending or bucklin of the rail and to prevent the head of t e rail from being distorted and bent out of shape.

The present construction of road rail has been designed to meet these conditions of service, and has a tubular body formation which gives the rail itself great strength and rigldity, together with a head which is formed of a lurality of'thicknesses of material so that 1t will be able to withstand the battering action of any machinery or mechanism which may be mounted thereon without danger of becoming distorted.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain combinations, formations and associations of the parts, as will more fully appear as the escr'iption proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the app nded claims.

In connection with the following description reference is to be had to the accompanyini drawings, in which igurel is a pers tive view ofone end of a road rail which is constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through the same.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through a modified form of the road rail.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing a still further modification.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all of the views of the drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, which illustrate one of many possible embodiments of the invention, the numeral 1 designates the base of the road rail or form,

said base being of a considerable width so as to obtain an extended bearing surface and provide a solid support for the rail. The base is formed of sheet metal of a suitable thickness or gauge and one edge thereof is bent upwardly to provide the face 2 which may be of any desired height, depending upon the thickness of the concrete to be deposited or upon the character of the work to be performed. At the upper edge of the face 2 the sheet metal is bent laterally to provide the head 3, and a depending lip 4 may be provided at the free edge of the head.

The foregoin parts are all formed from one piece of s eet metal, and associated therewith is an inclined web or back member 5 which is formed of a second piece of sheet metal. This back member constitutes a brace between the base 1 and the face and head of the rail. 'As shown by Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing the bracing web 5 is inclined and extends substantially between the rear edge of the base 1 and the angular intersection of the face 2 and head 3. Being inclined the web 5' has no tend ency to retain thereon particles of plastic material; in fact the wehforms, a shed tor to travel thereon.

concrete dropping thereon. The lower edge of the reinforcing web 5 is formed with a flange 6 which rests upon the base 1 'at a point adjacent to the edge thereof, being permanently and rigidly connected thereto in any suitable or approved manner as by means of the spot welding 7. The upper edge of the reinforcing web 5 is bent outwardly to provide thicknesses 8 and 9 which fit against, the inner faces of the head 3 and lip 4-, respectively, being fastened thereto in some suitable manner as by means of the spot welding 10.

With this construction. it will be noted that the body of the rail has a tubular formation which gives it great inherent strength and rigidity so that the rail cansupport heavy loads and Withstand severe usage without danger of bending or buc-- kling. Furthermore the head of the rail is formed of a plurality of superimposed thicknesses of material so that it will not be bent out of sha e or distorted by the battering action 0 any rolling stock or machinery of any kind which may be mounted The depending lip or flan e at the free edge of the head also ten s to give the head increased strength, since the head is practically in the form of an inverted channel member and is reinforced at both of its longitudinal edges by depending flanges or the equivalents thereof.

The forms or rails may be supported in position by means of the usual stakes 11, and these stakes are shown as being inserted through vertically aligned openings in the base 1 and inclined reinforcingweb 5. W'edge members 12 may be utilized to hold the rail in any position on the stake, to allow blocking or wedging under the base where the sub-soil has not been perfectly graded. The Wedge members are illustrated as extending through slots 13 in the reinforcing webs 5 and engaging keepers 14 upon the base 1. The outer ends of the wedge members may be bent at an angle to provide a head or lip 15, and it will be obvious that when the wedge members are driven into position the edges thereof will be caused to grip the sides of the stakes 11 and to lock the road rails in position upon the stakes. The form and arrangement of the stake locking means is not really es sential to the invention and can be changed or modified as may be desired. It is notable that the wedges 12, however, are practically entirely housed by the hollow portion of the form, this belng of especial advantage in a concrete form.

A modification is shown by Figure 3 in which the reinforcin element or web 5 is arranged in a slig tly different manner and extends fromthe outer edge portion of the base 1 to the outer edge portion of the head 3. The lower edgeof the reinforcing element is secured, as in the previous instance, to the base plate, and the upper edge thereto has a short vertical portion 5 which engages the interior of the lip 4, and an inward extension 8, which extends under the head 3 and is secured thereto. This design also provides a tubular body portion for the rail which has great inherent strength and rigidity, as well as a head portion which is composed of a plurality of superimposed thicknesses of material. The tubular formation of the body has the additional advantage of preventing concrete or foreign material from lodging within the interior of the rail, and interfering with the efiicient use thereof. Any suitable form of stake mounting such as that illustrated by Figure 1 may be utilized in connection with the -mod1fication, as shown by Fi re 3.

A further slight modification is illustrated by Figure 4., in which the reinforcing web has a lower portion 5 which is disposed at a sharper angle than an upper portion 5, the sharper an le of the lowerportion being perhaps 0, advantage in providing in a slightly better manner for the stake 11, and enabling a shorter stake to be used. The upper portion 5 of the reinforcing web engages the lip 4 of the rail head and is formed with an extension 8 which extends under the head 3 and is permanently and rigidly connected thereto in some suitable manner as by means of spot welding.

All of the different forms of the road rail have great inherent strength and rigidity so that they will not bend or buckle, and are practically indestructible so that they can beused repeatedly and form in effect permanent equipment for the contractor or road'builder using the same. Furthermore, the road rails are inexpensively formed of sheet metal and have a simple construction.

For the purposes of illustration three different embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in detail, although it will be understood that I do not restrict myself to these specific forms of the invention, since it is obvious that in any modifications changes can be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a unitary road form and rail structure, the same com rising a base extended upwardly at one e ge to rovide a form face, and thence extended aterally to provide a head, and a web joined to the base at its other edge and inclining upwardly and inwardly to en age beneath the head, said head and web elng interlocked at their engaging portions.

2. A unitary road rail structure of the character described, which is constructed of sheet metal and has a head portion, the sheet metal being overlapped at the head portion to provide a plurality of thicknesses of material.

3. A unitary road rail structure of the character described, which has a tubular body portion and is formed with a head, said rail being-constructed of sheet metal which is overlapped at the head portion to provide a plurality of thicknesses of material.

4. A road rail of the character described, which is formed of sheet metal and includes a base, front and head, in combination with a reinforcing back web, said web having an extension which laps and interlocks with the head portion of the rail to provide a plurality of thicknesses of material at the said head portion.

5. A road rail of the character described,

which is formed of sheet metal and includes a base, front and head portion, in combination with an inclined reinforcing web at the back thereof, the inclined web and base having corresponding stake receiving openings formed therein and the web being formed with an extension which fits against the head portion of the rail to provide a plurality of superposed thicknesses of material at the said head portion.

6. at. road rail of the character described, which is formed of sheet metal and includes a base and front member in combination with an inclined stiffening web co-extensive with the longitudinal area of the base and front member, the base and inclined web having corresponding stake receiving openings formed therein.

4. A road rail of the character dcscrlbed, including a base member, front portion and head which are formed of one piece of sheet metal, in combination with a reinforcing web which is formed of a complemental piece of sheet metal, said reinforcing web being formed with an extension which extends along and fits against the head portion of the rail to provide a double thickness pf sheet metal at the said head portion.

8. A. road rail of the. character described, including a base, front portion and head which are formed of one piece of sheet metal, the head having a depending lip at the free edge thereof, and an inclined reinforcing web which is formed of a complemental piece of sheet metal and extends between the front portion of the rail and the rear edge of the base, the upper edge of the reinforcing web being formed with an extension whieh fits against the head and lip at the edge of the head, thereby providing two superposed thicknesses of material at the said head portion. and lip.

9. A road rail of the character described, including a base, front portion, head, and a rear reinforcing web co-extensive with the said base and front portion, the said members being formed of sheet Inetai and edge porextends into the interior of the hollow rail,

and locking means arranged within the interior of the rail and operable from the outside thereof for clamping the rail in position on the stake.

11. A road rail of the character described, having a hollow body portion, a supporting stake of which a portion normally projects into the interior of the rail, and a locking wedge member entering the rail and operable from the exterior thereof for locking the rail in position u on the stake.

12. A road rail of t .e character described, including a tubular body portion formed of sheet metal and having a horizontal base and inclined brace member arranged above the base, a vertically disposed supporting stake extending loosely through the base and inclined brace member, a keeper on the base, and a wedge member passing through a side opening in the rail and engaging the keeper so that it is operable from the exterior of the rail and is adapted to engage the stake to lock the rail in position thereon.

13. As a new article of manufacture, a ,unitary road form and rail structure, the same comprising a base emnded upwardly at one edge to provide a form face, and thence extended laterally to provide a head, and a web joined to the base at its other edge and inclining upwardly and inwardly to engage beneath the head, said head and web being interlocked at their engaging portions, the said web being continuous throughout the length of the base and head portions of Hit the said locking device extending to a point exterior to the structure, whereby it may be operated.

15. A unitary road rail and form structure, comprising a base having one edge upturned to provide a form face and thence extended laterally to prot'ide a head portion and thence downwardly to provide a lip on said portion, and a web co-extensive in lengtlr with the said base, face, and head 10 portions, and provided at its upper edge with an extension interlocked with the head between the form face and said lip, and means connecting the lower edge of the web with the other edge of the base.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

OSCAR B. PULIS. 

